When tight end Antonio Gates left Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills following a foot injury, Chargers fans held their breath. The Bolts and their faithful followers are now collectively exhaling sighs of relief following good news from the All Pro on Monday.

X-rays of Gates’ foot came back negative and an MRI showed nothing significant. An upbeat Gates was in a protective boot as he addressed the media Monday. There’s a chance San Diego’s leading receiver will be able to play Sunday when the Bolts travel to the Nation’s Capitol to face the Washington Redskins.

“My foot feels a lot better,” Gates said. “It’s just day by day. I’m preparing to play this week.”

Gates was injured after making a 21-yard reception on 3rd-and-8 with 9:18 remaining in the Chargers’ 48-10 win over the Bills at Qualcomm Stadium. Gates caught a quick slant from quarterback Drew Brees and turned up field.

“I caught the ball and viewed the safety coming across,” Gates said. “I tried to make a move on (Lawyer Milloy), but I knew that the linebacker was chasing me. As I planted on my right foot, (Angelo Crowell) dove parallel to the ground and turned my foot outward.”

Gates joked that if he was a bit faster he could have gotten away from Crowell.

As Gates hobbled off the field Sunday afternoon, the immediate outlook didn’t look good. But after reaching the sideline, it didn’t take long for Gates to begin feeling better.

“When you hurt your foot like that, it immediately goes numb,” Gates said. “That’s what I felt. As I relaxed and slowed down, the feeling started to come back. I started feeling better. I got up and I was ready to go back in the game because I knew another third down was coming up.”

It’s still uncertain if Gates will be able to practice Wednesday, but he’s going to give it his best shot.

“We’ve got a tremendous training staff that does a great job knowing when you should go back out and when you shouldn’t,” Gates said. “I really haven’t tested it at all. I’ve been in this boot since the moment it happened. I’ve been icing and treating it. Wednesday will be my first time to see how it feels.”

Gates is the team leader in receptions (56) and receiving yards (784) and is tied with Keenan McCardell for the team lead in touchdown catches with seven. Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer was among the most relieved at the good news Monday.

“You don’t ever like to see any player sustain any type of injury,” Schottenheimer said. “In his case, he’s a big part of what we’re doing as a football team. We have the good fortune of the football gods smiling on all of us.”